It is well known in motor vehicles to provide an air bag assembly which is mounted beneath an opening in the instrument panel. A door closes the air bag deployment opening and is moved from the closed position to an open position by the deploying air bag.
The prior art has recognized that the deployment of the air bag toward the occupant seating position is dependent upon factors such as the size and shape of the air bag, the placement of tethers inside the air bag to control the deployed shape of the air bag, the magnitude and duration of inflation pressure and the placement of vent openings in the air bag.
The prior art has also recognized that an external deployment mechanism may be employed to control the deployment of the air bag. For example, co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/967,909 filed Oct. 29, 1992, discloses a fabric sleeve which deploys in front of the air bag and functions to control the direction of air bag deployment.